Chapter 12 - MELISSA'S PRICE
Melissa had three broken ribs and fourteen stitches above her left eyebrow.
Heather visited her in the hospital under police guard.
This time Melissa did not smile.
"Still think jail keeps me safe?"
Heather sat beside the bed.
"No."
Melissa stared at the ceiling.
"They'll kill me."
"Then help stop them."
"That's what Margaret said."
Heather leaned forward.
"Where is the sewing box?"
Melissa closed her eyes.
"I stole it from your attic."
"Why?"
"Because I knew what it contained."
"What?"
"A false bottom."
Heather waited.
"Inside was a ledger."
"CROWN?"
"Part of it."
"Where is it?"
Melissa looked toward the officer outside the door.
"I gave it to Ryan."
Heather stood.
"When?"
"Last year."
"Why?"
"Because he wanted out."
Heather's anger surged.
"You've been working with Ryan?"
"For years."
"Against us?"
Melissa laughed painfully.
"Sometimes."
"What does that mean?"
"It means CROWN doesn't have clean sides."
Heather stared at her.
Melissa continued.
"Ryan hated them. He also worked for them. Same as me."
"You were paid."
"So was he."
"You watched children."
Melissa looked away.
"I know."
"You locked Olivia in a room."
"I know."
"Don't say it like that fixes anything."
"It doesn't."
Heather stepped closer.
"You will answer every question."
Melissa's eyes returned to her.
"Margaret recruited me."
Heather stopped.
"What?"
"Not CROWN. Margaret."
"That's impossible."
"She found me when I was twenty-eight."
"For what?"
"She wanted information."
"But your file said she knew you were a watcher."
"She did."
"Why trust you?"
"She didn't."
Melissa swallowed.
"She used me."
Heather felt dizzy.
"To investigate CROWN?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you keep working for them?"
"Because that's how you stay inside."
Heather stared at her.
"Does Daniel know?"
"No."
"Avery?"
"God, no."
"You involved her."
Melissa's eyes filled with tears for the first time.
"I know."
Heather did not soften.
"Where is Ryan?"
"I don't know."
"Lie."
"I swear."
"Where did he take the ledger?"
Melissa hesitated.
"Thomas's place."
"Eric's father?"
"His old place."
"Where?"
Melissa looked at Heather.
"Thomas owned a cabin under another name."
"Why?"
"Because after he came back in 2009, he started preparing to disappear."
Heather remembered Eric's story.
"Why didn't he?"
"Margaret stopped him."
"Why?"
"Because she realized CROWN would take Ryan again."
Heather felt cold.
"They threatened him?"
"They always threatened him."
"Then what was Thomas planning?"
Melissa whispered, "To take Eric."
Heather frowned.
"Why Eric?"
"Because Eric was the leverage."
"I thought Ryan was the one they took."
"He was."
Melissa's voice shook.
"But Eric was the reason."
Heather slowly sat down.
Melissa explained.
Victor Hale saw something in Eric when he was young.
Intelligence.
Discipline.
Ambition.
Thomas joked that his oldest son might someday run a company bigger than Hale's.
Victor remembered.
Years later, when Thomas resisted moving illegal money, Victor created a choice.
Continue working.
Or Ryan would remain in the program.
Thomas complied.
But Victor also began cultivating Eric.
Not because Eric knew.
Because he didn't.
An unaware successor could become powerful without appearing connected.
"Why succession?" Heather asked.
Melissa looked toward her.
"Victor believed organizations die when they depend on criminals."
"What does that mean?"
"He wanted respectable heirs."
Heather thought of Eric.
College.
Corporate leadership.
No criminal record.
Perfect reputation.
"He built innocent people into positions of power."
"Yes."
"And then?"
"Then he gave them a reason to obey."
"Family."
Melissa nodded.
Heather closed her eyes.
Olivia.
Family break event.
The locked room.
The police.
The hidden bank account.
Everything was designed to create pressure around Eric.
"What happens if Eric refuses?"
Melissa's voice dropped.
"That's what Margaret was trying to prevent."
"Prevent how?"
"By destroying succession."
"With the ledger?"
"Partly."
"What else?"
Melissa stared at her.
"With you."
Heather blinked.
"Me?"
"That's why your number is zero."
"I thought zero meant non-candidate."
"It does."
"Then why me?"
Melissa gave a tired smile.
"Because zero can stand outside the order."
Heather frowned.
Melissa whispered, "Margaret chose you because CROWN couldn't predict you."
Heather almost laughed.
"I'm a middle-school librarian."
"Exactly."
"What am I supposed to do?"
"Find the cabin."
"Where?"
Melissa told her.
Then she reached beneath her hospital blanket and pulled out something tiny.
A key.
Not gold.
Silver.
Heather stared at it.
"How did you get that past police?"
Melissa smiled weakly.
"I'm still me."
"What does it open?"
"Thomas's cabin has two doors."
Heather's stomach tightened at the phrase.
"Two doors?"
"The first keeps strangers out."
May you like
Melissa placed the key in Heather's palm.
"The second keeps the truth in."
